Holidaying in Hanoi

Since Ryn is now busy in high school, my parents have asked (ordered) me to take over this blog! Grr.... well sure, but I'm gonna do it my way with lots of pics of cool cars and none of that girly stuff! So here goes.......... 

That's me arriving in Noi Bai Airport in Hanoi! I was very excited to begin my trip around a new country!

Travelling sure takes lots of energy so I couldn't wait to refuel! Here is our first meal in Hanoi at Ngon restaurant, where we got our first impression of native Vietnamese food! Everything was so good I think I can live here forever..... 

My parents wanted to see the embalmed body of modern Vietnam's founding father Ho Chi Minh but it was closed on the day we planned to visit. I was a little spooked but I did think it would be cool too! Here's the view of the Ho Chi Minh mausoleum from a safe distance outside! 

Another very popular tourist attraction is the picturesque Hoan Kiem Lake, which is home to a famous Vietnamese legend.

Hoan Kiem means 'returned sword' as legend has it that after fighting a war, a soldier returned the  sword to a turtle that had lent it to him to help him fight courageously. There is an island in the middle of Hoan Kiem Lake on which a historic temple sits.  Locals and tourists alike love to go to the lake for exercise, and get-togethers. 

Who can visit Vietnam without slurping a delicious bowl of Vietnamese noodle soup, pho? Here we are having noodles on low tables and stools by the side of a busy road. FUN! 

Vietnam also has some amazing snack food. My mother's favourite sandwich in the world is banh mi, the Vietnamese baguette, in a hole-in-the-wall street shop!

Another memorable event was the water puppet show at Thanh Long Theatre, near Hoan Kiem Lake. The water puppet show was amazing as the puppets were controlled by humans and they could dance and perform amusing tricks! Even though we can't understand Vietnamese, we could follow the story and laugh along. 

Our hotel was actually located on a historic site too - it was the site of Hoa Lo prison, which was used to imprison American soldiers during the war between the USA and Vietnam. People were really angry that the prison site would be turned into a hotel so the developers preserved a large portion of the prison as a museum to remind people of the suffering and sacrifice of the people. 

Also near our hotel was the Hanoi Opera House, which was built by the French to resemble the Paris Opera House. Unfortunately, it was closed at that time so we could not go in to check it out.

We then left Hanoi to visit the world famous Ha Long Bay. Here we are on board the Silverstar cruise boat for a tour around Halong Bay!

Halong Bay is dotted with thousands of natural limestone formations. Some of the bigger ones even have caves in them!

We went trekking in the caves, where there are lots of stalactites and stalagmites!

At the end of the cave, we found a small and beautiful lake which was surrounded by trees and rocks!

We also went kayaking from our tourboat! It was tiring but fun and I would definitely do it again!

A memorable taxi ride after we went back to Hanoi in a Kia Morning! This is a car model that is not on sale in Singapore so I'm glad I got to ride in it. 

Besides cars and boats, I also got to see an old trishaw at the famous Sofitel Metropole Hotel which I found very charming!

It was a fantastic holiday and I rate Hanoi and Halong Bay 10 Poo-Poo Rockets!